Saturday, April 27, 2013

Stories I Found Of Interest (weekly)

This week something changed. George W. Bush is back, for the unveiling of his presidential library. His numbers are dramatically up. You know why? Because he's the farthest thing from Barack Obama.

Obama fatigue has opened the way to Bush affection.

One thing Mr. Bush didn't think he was was superior. He thought he was luckily born, quick but not deep, and he famously trusted his gut but also his heart. He always seemed moved and grateful to be in the White House.

“There is nothing on iTunes’ store today that gives anyone the impetus to buy something.”

“It’s no longer about individual tracks, it’s about access,”

“The concept of buying music at 99¢ a song is becoming irrelevant.”

the market for downloads will begin to decline, albeit slowly, within five years. “We are in an interesting transition,” McGuire says. “Download-to-own will persist, but with younger consumers, access through streaming services makes more sense.”

Here's his logic: If Apple, Roku, and others can make money on streaming media devices, so too can Amazon. The advantage Amazon has, though, is that it already provides streaming content. So if Amazon decides to give its set-top box customers Amazon Prime subscriptions for, say, one year, the company will be able to offer a better value than rivals even if they charge the same amount for the device.

Cable’s stranglehold on Hollywood looks less secure than at any time in the history of the medium. The result is that 2013 could finally be the year when TV Everywhere finally becomes a reality, at least in a larger way than before

While cable is still the dominant method of TV viewing, streaming is gaining in popularity.

the ability to download or stream ad-supported content will be everywhere, no matter the device

Wealth is no longer seen as a sign of virtue and hard work but as a symbol of exploitation.

Mitt Romney was right when he said there exists a mindset of “victimology”. No matter what brilliant entrepreneurs bring to the market, they are demonized simply because they earn much more money than the average Joe. This has lead to a growing sect of businessmen who find it necessary to tell the public that not only do they not support the system that brought them immense wealth, but they support government regulation to make things more equitable.